Bart Torvik’s “T-Rank” and wins above bubble will now be used by the Selection committee to determine the teams in the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament selection committee received two new metrics for team sheets to utilize during the tournament selection process.
The committee added a new predictive metric and a new results-based metric, giving them three of each. The new predictive metric joining BPI and KenPom will be Bart Torvik’s “T-Rank”, while the new results-based metric, wins above bubble, will join strength of record and KPI. The NET will continue to be utilized by the committee as well.
From the NCAA’s release:
“The committee has always valued different data points and metrics to assist with its evaluation process, and these two metrics have increasingly been referenced by members in recent years,” Dan Gavitt said. “Adding them to the team sheet ensures that all 12 members easily have access to this data. The Torvik rankings, along with BPI and KenPom, give the committee three predictive ratings, while the WAB, Strength of Record and KPI give them three results-based metrics, all of which, in addition to the NET, will be beneficial to the team evaluation process.”
The NCAA Tournament features 68 teams, and in 2025 will include 31 automatic qualifiers and 37 “at-large” bids, which will be determined by the committee on Selection Sunday.
Further expansion to the field has long been rumored, but is currently not in the works. Instead, additional data points will be used to help ensure the committee is picking the most deserving teams to participate in March Madness – hopefully making the process even smoother.
Caleb Love, Hunter Dickinson and Harrison Ingram are familiar names in fresh places.
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments, and concerns in this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Bryan Kalbrosky.
Now that we’ve reached March Madness, it’s a great time to look at the impact of the transfer portal in NCAA men’s college basketball.
Although it’s undeniable that roster continuity matters when it comes to constructing a championship contender, it’s also imperative for a modern team to successfully manage the portal as well.
Before the season began, we knew that many big names were transferring to new programs. With postseason play right around the corner, though, we can finally see which players have settled in as the best fits in their new homes.
Here are some notable names who made the tournament last season, changed schools and have made the tournament again:
Shahada Wells (TCU → McNeese State)
Walter Clayton Jr. (Iona → Florida)
Max Abmas (Oral Roberts → Texas)
Keshad Johnson (San Diego State → Arizona)
Steven Ashworth (Utah State → Creighton)
A few other names that fit this category include Great Osobor (Utah State), Darrion Williams (Texas Tech), Kadin Shedrick (Texas) and DJ Horne (NC State).
Additionally, there are some fascinating players who did not make the tournament last season. These are some transfers who will have a chance to carve their place in history on their new teams in this tournament:
Dalton Knecht (Northern Colorado → Tennessee)
Cam Spencer (Rutgers → UConn)
Caleb Love (North Carolina → Arizona)
Hunter Dickinson (Michigan → Kansas)
Harrison Ingram (Stanford → North Carolina)
Other players like this include Tyrese Samuel (Florida), Keshon Gilbert (Iowa State), Isaac Jones (Washington State) and Grant Nelson (Alabama).
It’s an exciting time for these players who can show the world who they’ve become at their new
Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
March Madness gives college basketball players an opportunity to turn themselves into legends.
One way that many of these athletes are able to do that is with 3-point shooting and in the modern game, those around the NCAA are continuing to shoot the ball from farther and farther. Both men’s and women’s college basketball players shoot from the international 3-point line, which is 22 feet and 1.75 inches.
We were given access to the database at CBB Analytics, which tracks how many field goals players have made from at least 25 feet away from the basket. For comparison, it is also beyond the NBA distance, which is 23 feet and 9 inches at the top of the key.
The Final Four is the pinnacle of sports. It’s the climax of arguably the greatest tournament in sports. This is what March Madness boils down to —these games matter most.
Since these are the games that matter most, hosting them matters a lot, too. Like the Super Bowl, it’s a big deal when a city books the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. It brings so many people into town. It generates so much business. It also gives your city an unforgettable moment.
Phoenix has hosted the Final Four before. The last time it happened was in 2017, when North Carolina, Gonzaga, Oregon, and South Carolina advanced to the final.
UNC beat Gonzaga 71-65 in the championship game to win its sixth NCAA championship and its last one under Roy Williams.
Might that be a good omen for Hubert Davis and UNC this year? We’ll just have to find out.
Gooood morning, Winners! Happy Monday! Thanks for locking in with the Morning Win today. We appreciate you here.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year again. March Madness is here! Mid-day basketball, folks! I love it. It takes me back to my high school days when nearly every teacher would roll out that TV and turn the games on mute so we could all watch and skip out on a day of classwork.
Our FTW team did a fantastic job covering everything on Selection Sunday. You should take a beat and read more here:
There’s lots to digest there. For me, the biggest reveal on Sunday was just how stacked the Albany Region is in the women’s tournament. That’s where Iowa and Caitlin Clark are seeded and it won’t be a cakewalk.
“There’s a potential Sweet 16 matchup with Kansas State, which Iowa has already played twice this season, losing at home and winning on a neutral court. A rematch of last year’s national title game against LSU looms in the regional final. If it’s not Angel Reese and the Tigers, then it likely will be second-seeded UCLA, which is battle tested after the bruising Pac-12 season.”
Folks, that’s a potential national championship rematch … in a regional final. That’s if LSU can make it there as a No. 3 seed. I get why Kim Mulkey is upset about LSU’s ranking. That’s a tough spot for a talented team.
All eyes will be glued on Iowa for obvious reasons. This is a moment for that team. It’s the moment for Clark. Everyone has debated where she ranks all-time in college basketball and whether she has any true claim to being considered the greatest of all time. I don’t have a definitive answer. I don’t think anyone does. We probably never will. The debate is too subjective.
But I’ll tell you what. If Iowa can make it to another final out of that region unscathed? That’s definitely going to add to Clark’s resume. Especially if it results in a championship.
I can’t wait to watch this all unfold.
Skipping the NIT is wack
Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Nobody has ever been excited about playing in the NIT. I understand that. It’s the consolation prize for a mediocre season.
But, man. I’m sorry. Declining an invitation to the NIT is so wack to me. Seven men’s teams, including St. John’s and Rick Pitino, did just that after missing out on the NCAA tournament.
This is a selfish decision for coaches and programs. They skip the NIT because their programs are supposed to be too good for it. They’re above playing in it. They don’t participate to keep it off the school’s resume. It’s a blemish.
But they’re actually depriving their athletes of another opportunity to play basketball. And some of them will never play again, as Tom Crean so astutely points out here:
“Give your players and coaches a chance to keep coaching and playing, and don’t short change. If a guy doesn’t want to play, go sit down. If a coach doesn’t want to coach, go recruit. But there’s gotta be enough people to put five, six, seven people on the floor and go play. Makes absolutely zero sense to me.”
The NIT is an opportunity for someone. Vanity isn’t a good enough reason to deprive anyone of that. These teams and their coaches need to get over themselves.
An incredible shot
Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Obviously, with it being Selection Sunday and all, plenty went on the back burner yesterday in the sports world.
But this Kyrie Irving game-winning shot managed to break through and rightfully so. Because, fam. This is one of the toughest shots I think I’ve ever seen in my life.
This is why nobody wants to see the Mavericks in the playoffs. One second, you’re dealing with Luka Doncic in the pick-and-roll, doing whatever he wants. Then he swings the ball to the perimeter and you’re dealing with that.
Good luck, Western Conference.
Quick hits: Lock in on March Madness … The key to a successful bracket … and more
“Give your players and coaches a chance to keep coaching and playing.”
In an era of college sports defined by movement in the pursuit of money — whether that’s players and coaches changing teams, teams changing conferences or conferences changing tv partners — it’s always nice to have a reminder that some people are still in it for the love of the sport.
It was hard to feel that way Sunday after seeing teams snubbed from the NCAA men’s basketball tournament decide to also opt out of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), thus ending their seasons. Whatever their reasons, it was just another example of the sport itself not being enough reason to play, an idea that’s sadly been normalized so much that I never considered the potential benefits of a tournament that didn’t crown a national champion.
As far as I had always been concerned, the NIT was nothing more than an acronym for “Not In Tournament,” and the teams involved were playing games that didn’t matter. Then, I heard ESPN analyst and former coach Tom Crean’s impassioned rant against the declined invitations, and he convinced me on one point.
Tom Crean goes off about college basketball teams declining invitations to the NIT. 🏀🔥
“Give your players and coaches a chance to keep coaching and playing, and don’t short change,” Crean said. “If a guy doesn’t want to play, go sit down. If a coach doesn’t want to coach, go recruit. But there’s gotta be enough people to put five, six, seven people on the floor and go play. Makes absolutely zero sense to me.”
Give your players and coaches a chance to keep coaching and playing. That’s a powerful line, because there will come a time when those players and coaches won’t be able to play and coach again, and all they’ll have is the memories of when they could. That’s especially the case for seniors who maybe went into Selection Sunday hoping for one last game, only for their teams to never show up on the big bracket.
Of course, these declined invitations don’t all happen in a vacuum. Every team’s situation is different, and some may have had valid reasons for opting out. The transfer portal opening Monday complicates things too. And I’m not going to sit here and act like I’ll miss a bunch of teams I wasn’t going to watch anyway. But that shouldn’t be the impetus for teams wanting to play.
The NIT may not carry the same prestige as it once did, but it does provide graduates a final chance to play. It gives underclassmen another development opportunity. It gives players and coaches more exposure. It’s not completely useless. It only seems that way when teams like St. John’s, Pittsburgh and Indiana decide it’s not worth their time. And that’s unfortunate, because for a lot of the student-athletes and coaches, it may be their last time.
Get your bracket for the 2024 NCAA women’s tournament!
March Madness season is officially here!
We now know the full 68-team list that is headed to college basketball’s premier tournament, which means it’s time to fill out your March Madness brackets! The first round of the 2024 NCAA women’s tournament begins on March 22, so there’s not much longer until the action begins.
If you’re looking to fill out a bracket of your own, here’s a printable blank one — courtesy USA TODAY — for you to use as you see fit! You can download the blank PDF file here.
That’s right, the 2024 women’s NCAA tournament bracket reveal is coming, with every team, region and seeding unveiled on Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. It’s always a fun time to see teams celebrating making it to the Big Dance.
The post-Jay Wright era at Villanova has gotten off to a rocky start under head coach Kyle Neptune and things did not get much better on Selection Sunday.
For the second consecutive season, the Wildcats will not participate in the NCAA men’s tournament.
Wright’s tenure started in 2001-02 with three consecutive trips to the NIT before he got his program back to the NCAA tournament, so Neptune isn’t completely off track yet, however this is the first time the Wildcats have missed out on an opportunity to play for a championship in back-to-back seasons since then.
Five of the Kenpom top 40 were left out.
St. John’s – 25 Wake Forest – 31 Villanova – 35 Cincinnati – 37 Pitt – 40
The three-time NCAA champions were among the most notable names on a particularly strong bubble this year, which kept the Wildcats’ tournament dreams on edge over the last two months. While early season victories over No. 14 North Carolina, Texas Tech, Maryland and No. 12 Creighton bolstered the Wildcats’ resume, the team really struggled against ranked opponents, going 2-5 with two losses each to Marquette, UConn and St. John’s.
One year after going 17-17 (10-10 Big East) with a first round exit in the 2023 NIT, Neptune’s second year on the job didn’t yield much better results as the program went 18-15 (10-10 Big East).
Greg Gumbel’s colleagues made sure to remind him during Selection Sunday.
Greg Gumbel was not part of this year’s Selection Sunday, but his colleagues made sure that viewers understood his impact on the broadcast. They sent him well wishes while he steps away to deal with some family health challenges.
Seeing Greg Gumbel on Selection Sunday is a nostalgic tradition for many college basketball fans. Yet, when 68 teams were revealed on Sunday for the 2024 NCAA tournament, Gumbel was not present with his CBS colleagues. Per The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch, Gumbel stepped away to tackle some family health issues. Ernie Johnson is expected to get more screen time with Gumbel out.
Still, Gumbel’s counterparts made sure to let him know that they were thinking about him with some heartfelt well wishes about how much he means to them and how they look forward to seeing him in 2025.
CBS begins the NCAA Tournament Selection Show with the crew sending their best wishes to Greg Gumbel.
Get your bracket for the 2024 NCAA men’s tournament!
Happy March Madness season, everyone!
Selection Sunday has officially come and gone, which means March Madness is set to begin in full in just a few days. We now know all of the 68 teams set to take the field ahead of the first round on March 21 and 22 so now it’s time to fill out those ever-important March Madness brackets!
If you’re looking to fill out one of your own, here’s a printable blank bracket — courtesy of USA TODAY — for you to use as you see fit! You can download the blank PDF file here.
